Wildlife Gardening Tips

Here are some top tips for attracting wildlife to your garden.  If you have other tips why not share them with other UK gardeners on the GardenLinks messageboard ?

Tips

Provide food such as peanuts, fat and sunflower seeds for birds, and don't forget to give them water to drink.  They will also appreciate a bird bath.  Nesting boxes should be placed out of direct sunlight and out of the reach of cats and squirrels.

Cover fences with ivy and other climbing plants, to make a place for birds to sit and hide.  Keep them well-fed by including shrubs with berries into your garden design.

Add compost or rotting leaves to your soil to make it richer and improve the habitat for small insects.  An increase in insects and worms may also encourage larger creatures (birds, frogs and hedgehogs) which eat them!

Sprinkle wildflower seeds in a selected corner of your garden.  These will attract butterflies and should self-seed year after year.  Alternatively, create a meadow effect by combining part of your lawn with wildflowers.

Plant buddleia and candytuft to attract butterflies.  Make sure something is flowering in your garden at all times to ensure a nectar supply and encourage butterflies and bees.

Install a mud-lined pond to benefit frogs and dragonflies.  Add a small plank or stone so that frogs, hedgehogs or other small creatures can crawl out of the pond if necessary.

Create dark, damp corners for amphibians such as frogs, toads and newts.

Plant a mixed hedgerow of native shrubs and trees to encourage a variety of insects and songbirds.
 

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